Peru Day 3: Nazca Lines

Day 3

We took a very large bus to Paracas, another coastal city farther south. 

The bus is a double decker (we are on the top), has soft seats, which is good because this is a 3 1/2 hour bus ride. Ezra is teasing me because I am pushing all the buttons and such to discover what works- recline the seat, lower the front tray, try out the foot rest, turn on and off the fan, just like a 5-year old would do.

We are following along the coastline. The scenery is desert, occasional farms and small shelters/houses.

Shortly after arriving in Paracas, we went to a tiny airport on the edge of this tiny town. The airport building was about the size of a small house. We boarded a small, low flying airplane.

It seats 12 people (mostly Japanese with us) and two pilots. Ezra and I sat very near the front. We could see the pilots and instrument panel.

It was a 30 minute flight to the area, over mostly desert. Here you can see the low, farmed area. THen the mountain rises to the high desert plateau. The plateau is where the lines are found.

When we got the area and flew over a drawing, the pilot tipped its wings sideways so we could see it directly. They were actually difficult to make out. The lines are a bit faint. We had to listen to the pilot tell us exactly when to look under the wing to find each drawing.  Then the pilot turned around and tipped to the other side so that people on the other side of the plane could see and take pictures also. They did this for about 10 of the most famous Nazca drawings. You can imagine much tipping, turning, much plane movement. Ezra used both of our airplane sickness baggies.

Astronaut or Giant (this one is on a mountain face, not flat ground):

Monkey:

Hummingbird:

Spider:

Heron: 

Tree and Hands:

Parrot:  

From Wikipedia: 

 The Nazca Lines /ˈnæzkə/ are a series of ancient geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru.  The high, arid plateau stretches more than 80 kilometres (50 mi) between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the Pampas de Jumana about 400 km south of Lima. Although some local geoglyphs resemble Paracas motifs, scholars believe the Nazca Lines were created by the Nazca culture between 400 and 650 AD. The hundreds of individual figures range in complexity from simple lines to stylized hummingbirds, spiders, monkeys, fish, sharks, orcas, and lizards.

The lines are shallow designs made in the ground by removing the reddish pebbles and uncovering the whitish/grayish ground beneath. Hundreds are simple lines or geometric shapes; more than seventy are zoomorphic designs of animals such as birds, fish, llamas, jaguar, monkey, or human figures. Other designs include phytomorphic shapes such as trees andflowers. The largest figures are over 200 metres (660 ft) across. Scholars differ in interpreting the purpose of the designs, but in general they ascribe religious significance to them.

Due to the dry, windless, and stable climate of the plateau and its isolation, for the most part the lines have been preserved. Extremely rare changes in weather may temporarily alter the general designs. As of recent years, the lines have been deteriorating due to an influx of squatters inhabiting the lands.